


Deluge Dirge

by perfectdisharmony



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Gen, Salmon Run, Ugh, this took longer than it should have
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-22 16:04:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13767636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perfectdisharmony/pseuds/perfectdisharmony
Summary: The young inking wants to remember how she ended up in this situation in the first place. All that comes to her mind is the sound of strange, alluring bells and the speeches of some shady bear statue, his words promising her rare rewards and a brighter future for her efforts.Now here she was, out on the battlefield, murdering salmonids and harvesting their unborn young.____In which Agent 4 works shifts in Salmon Run and starts to have second thoughts.





	Deluge Dirge

**Author's Note:**

> I fucking love salmon run, and in no way do I condone Grizz’s practices

Common sense told the young girl to turn around and head anywhere else. The Deca Tower, the strip mall, even the sewer pipe with the pretty woman holding a parasol seemed to be a safer option.

But the building in front of her seemed so enticing, with its colorful lanterns and striking posters. She walked towards the building with hesitant, excited steps, tuning out the small voice in the back of her head that kept yelling at her to turn around. With every step she took, faint music reached her ears, and by the time she reached the entrance, the music was blaring. Willing and ready, she entered the building, eagerness spreading throughout her face.

If only she used her common sense.  
______________________________

After fifteen minutes of training and only a mention of reading the work manual, the young inking was thrown immediately into her first shift. The job sounded simple enough in theory – harvest golden eggs for Mr. Grizz. In practice, however, the job was much more complex.

First problem? The boss salmonids. They were terrifying; scary enough to induce nightmares. She stood paralyzed whene a Steel Eel snaked towards her, its red eyes ablaze and searching for a victim, or when a Maws leaped up from the ink, its scaly snout chomping at the air. She spent more time in her life raft than on the spawning grounds.

Not to mention the job was mentally disturbing. Here she was, murdering salmonids and harvesting their unborn young. What made a salmonid any different from an inkling, octoling, or even a jellyfish? Their lives were certainly worth more than tickets and ability chunks. 

But she was getting paid – quite generously – and the bear statue was getting his eggs, so she kept her mouth shut. A mutualistic relationship, Grizz would call it. She continued to show up to work, slip into her uniform, and kill off the salmonid population.  
_____________________

Through time and trial, the girl eventually learned how to defeat the bosses without hesitance. Her rank rose from intern to profreshional; at the cost of her health status.

The stench of the spawning grounds made her kneel down and gag. Her vision started to impair, thanks to a [fuck ton] of ink and a lack of goggles. Her reaction time suffered, which often led to a strike to the face and a life raft. The incident happened way too many times for someone in her rank.

And the nightmares still remained.

Shooting down a steelhead, the inkling swam down to the coast to collect the golden eggs. Her hands delicately picked up the egg, as it if were glass. Mr. Grizz wanted those eggs delivered in pristine condition, and she shuddered about what would happen if he found even a scratch on them.

She placed the egg in the basket and hurried to collect the others, but she was too late. She caught sight of a salmonid snatching the remaining eggs. As it waded towards the water, she charged up her splating gun on instinct, but held the trigger when a scream from behind her pierced her ears. Her head whipped around.

Three life rafts slowly came to her feet, the squids inside them jumping and pleading loudly for help. All her teammates had died – when had that happened?

Groaning, she redirected her aim at the rafts and pulled the trigger, reviving her team. She didn't even bother to try killing the thief; time was almost up and the team had met their quota for this wave. No need to have more blood on her hands.  
__________________________

Her shift was terminated early in the final wave. She had frozen in her tracks when the sun dimmed and a new salmonid boss emerged from the seas. But it wasn't her fault – how was she supposed to react to some barbecue grill machine with circulating salmon tails and flooding salmonid ink targeting her?

The boat ride back to Inkopolis was a peaceful gift, given to her from the ones on high. She thanked whoever above for the tranquility.

“Let’s see…” Mr. Grizz spoke from the radio, reviewing over the shift. “You caught 58 eggs this time. Not terrible.”

As Grizz went on about how to defeat the barbecue abomination (apparently called a griller, according to the manual), thoughts spiraled in the squid’s head. Everybody had a limit, and she had surpassed hers long ago. There was no denying it; she needed to quit her job.

She chose not to grieve over the decision too much. There were better, less scarring ways to earn cash. The real problem was confronting her boss.

Most inklings knew little about Mr. Grizz. He mysteriously appeared in Inkopolis Square one day, with his questionable company and a deluge of advertisements. People didn't know how to describe him - strict mentor, corrupt businessman, the demon trapped in the bear statue…

Inklings did know not to cross him, not to ask him unnecessary questions, and to stay clear of his way. Rumor had it Grizz had certain employees who could take care of people who didn't agree with him.

Then again, it was just a rumor.

She sucked in her cheeks and hoped for the best.  
___________________________

“Trust me kid, you're doing the world a favor getting rid of those pests.”

The young inkling stood face to face with the bear shaped radio, placed ever so perfectly on the office desk. It wobbled in place when Grizz’s gruffy voice would speak.

“The Book of Madai, chapter 10. You ever read it?”

She shakes her head.

“Well, the book prophecies about the rise of salmonids, eating away at us until there's no traces left. And I don't believe in some thousand year old book telling me how I'm gonna go down.”

She nods once to show her understanding.

“But if you really wanna stop killing salmonids, you're more than welcome to turn in your uniform and leave Grizzco Industries.”

A laugh came from the radio, Grizz’s voice turning darker.

“Cause I'm not stopping my business.”

And there the two stayed for a while. Grizz’s sculpted and beady eyes stared down the young inkling. She eventually broke off the stare, her eyes glancing at the surveillance monitors, then the exit, then back to Grizz. With shaking hands, she placed her neatly folded uniform on his desk.

“What a shame. Can't say I'll miss you though. I got millions of workers doing this job.”

The girl bowed her head down in respect and quickly paced out of Grizzco Industries, but not before overhearing Mr. Grizz’s offer.

“Come back when you get the stomach for this place.”  
_______________________

As fate would have it, the salmonids wouldn't be the last living things she would murder.

It turns out the woman hanging out by the sewers was actually an agent of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. After curiosity led the girl down the pipe, the pretty woman recruited her on sight, setting her on a rescue mission to retrieve the Great Zapfish from the Octolings.

Now the girl heads towards a kettle, her Hero Shot in her grip, with the woman behind her cheering her on.

“You got this, Agent 4!” She raises her parasol up high. “I'm counting on you!”

Four turns around, giving a thumbs up in response before entering the kettle.

At least when octolings died, they came back.

**Author's Note:**

> Wouldn't you know it, I have a tumblr: https://deliriousgame.tumblr.com/  
>  
> 
> Any feedback is appreciated!


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